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K-State women pull away from WU with hot 3-point shooting

MANHATTAN — The Kansas State women’s basketball team found its stroke from behind the arc at halftime in its 75-42 win over Washburn in both teams’ final exhibition game, hitting five consecutive 3-point baskets to start the second half.

The Wildcats hot second-half offensive start built their lead to 36 points and put the game away early.

The Lady Blues turned the ball over 27 times, 20 of those coming from steals by the Wildcats.

“Some of the kids that are coming back act like they have never been here before,” Washburn coach Ron McHenry said. “They act like they do not know what is going on in the system.”

When the Lady Blues did get shots up, they fell at a low rate as they shot under 29 percent for the game.

“I think that we really broke ourself up. I do not know how many times we came out of the huddle trying to get to a certain spot in the set, and we broke it down every time,” McHenry said. “It was like clockwork. Something is not getting from the bench to the floor.”

Laura Kinderknecht was the only Lady Blues’ player to break double digits in the scoring column with 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting.

Ball security was better for the Wildcats in the second half as they committed only five turnovers to follow up 11 turnovers in the first half.

Senior guard Brittany Chambers finished with 21 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists to lead the Wildcats. Freshman Brianna Craig complemented Chambers’ performance with 17 points, six rebounds, and only two turnovers.

“This game she didn’t force anything,” Chambers said of Craig. “She didn’t play like a freshman which is what we needed out of her.”

Ashia Woods contributed 12 points and seven rebounds while Ashlynn Knoll found a rhythm offensively in the second half, scoring nine points.

The first half was a polar opposite product of basketball.

The Wildcats jumped on the Lady Blues early, forcing them into nine turnovers before the first media timeout. The Lady Blues dug an 11-0 hole before a 3-pointer from Kinderknecht broke the shutout.

Chambers dealt with foul trouble after picking up her third foul with 11:46 to play in the first half.

The two-time first team All-Big 12 player, however, reentered the game less than two minutes later after a 10-1 run from the Lady Blues and an eight-minute scoreless drought from the Wildcats.